Hiking Alone...

[10-K]

Whether or not you wil enjoy hiking alone depends largely on your personality.

I get all the social stimulation I need paying the cashier for my groceries once a week so I get along pretty good by myself...


That is not to say I can't enjoy hiking with someone for a few days. But longer than a week and it'd be tough.

[Biggie Master]

I hate people.

It's not really the people, it's the stupid and annoying crap they do (see graffitti post... see Mary Ellen post... see hiking silent post...) Hardly anyone goes out on the trail for the social interaction aspect. People are people - it doesn't matter if they're on the trail or at the mall. There's always that small (or not so small) percentage that make you scratch your head and say "what an idiot!".

[Cookerhiker]

... Hardly anyone goes out on the trail for the social interaction aspect. ...

I think you're describing hikers' motivations for every other trail in the country but I'm not so sure any more about the AT. It seems to me a lot of the trail journals relate stories of people (fellow hikers) encountered on the trail and also talk a lot about the towns & hostels. And I've seen WB threads on the subject "what's your favorite part of the trail" or "things not to miss" where most responses are trail towns or specific hostels & restaurants, sometimes hiker feeds and other "festivals."

Until 10 years ago, when one spoke of a trail "guide," it referred to one of the ATC-published books describing the natural features of the AT or other relevant facts such as campsites, water sources, and side trails. Nowadays, I get the impression - at least from on-line places like WB and FB - that hikers seeking a "guide" are talking about AWOL's or the Companion with the focus on trail towns and services.

[Mags]

I just posted this on my website the other day. Good timing (?).

******************************


Why solo wilderness adventures? What is it about being alone in the wilderness that may be appealing to certain people?

Here's my own personal perspective.





From a personal perspective, I need solo trips.

I love time spent with friends in the outdoors. In fact, the basis of some of my closest friendships were formed from shared experiences in the outdoors.

But, well, I am an 'extroverted introvert'. (Huh? Wha???)


I can be friendly and sociable. Love the apres ski (fancy word for burgers and beer!) and laughing about a trip with companions.


But, there is something I NEED for in the outdoors. And I can only get it solo. Quickly in my relationship with (the soon-to-be) Mrs. Mags, I took a hard line on my vacation time. One week is mine. And it has to be solo.

Why solo? Here's something I wrote a few years back…

***********************************************

I wait. Now the night flows back, the mighty
stillness embraces and includes me; I can see the
stars again and the world of starlight. I am twenty
miles or more from the nearest fellow human, but
instead of loneliness I feel loveliness. Loveliness
and a quiet exultation.


So said Cactus Ed (Abbey).


I really can't say it much better..but because I ramble on, I'm going to say something anyway.


When hiking solo. I do not feel alone. I do much thinking that otherwise would not be done. Everything is more intense. Somehow the views are vaster, the sounds sharper, the smells more sharp. The feelings
are overwhelming. In short, I do not feel alone. I feel intimately connected to the universe in which I walk.


When I did the PCT, I went four days without seeing anyone. I stumbled upon a herd of elk on a rainy Oregon day. The sounds of hoofs crashing through the woods, the smell of the damp earth, the incredible sight of the large elk going through the woods. Almost four years later, this image is etched vividly in my memory.


When I did the Colorado Trail, I was caught in a snowstorm on San Luis saddle At 12500' plus, well above treeline. I bailed into Creede. The following day, was again on the divide. The mountains around me were white, the sky was a deep blue. The air had the crispness of Colorado in autumn. It was an over whelming intense scene. My eyes filled up with theintense emotion I felt with the beauty encompassing
me.


Solo hiking can be difficult. You are by yourself, in your own thoughts. You must use your own resources. I don't think being alone is what makes going solo hard…I think confronting yourself, having all around
you that much more intense…that is what people find difficult.


For me, solo hiking turns a thru-hike from an extended vacation into a wilderness pilgrimage. When going solo, I am forced to confront on a very gut level what I am seeking on the pilgrimage.


The beauty, the emotion, my thoughts.


And I would not have it any other way.

[SawnieRobertson]

That is a pretty good post, Paul. Now, what is this about a "soon to be Mrs. Mags?" Congratulations!

[The Captain]

Wow, didnt expect this many replies! I think starting at my local park is a great idea and plan on doing so soon. We'll see where it goes from there. Thanks for the help!

[spekkio12345]

I think it is a little easier going it alone in most cases.... well at least the hiking and covering miles part. Once you have spent some time backpacking with a variety of different folks you will see why. Regardless, it is rare to be "alone" on the AT for more than a mile or two at a time, especially in the summer... so if you wanna socialize you usually don't need to look any further than the closest shelter at the end of the day.

[kayak karl]

After a week solo you will learn what not to do. Sometimes the A.T. is very unforgiving.

in what ways did you find it unforgiving?

[Old Boots]

In one sense everyone hikes alone. No one can experience your hike. Hiking with others is problematic. Whose pace? How do you decide when to zero or head into town? Over the long haul these become significant issues. What works for me on the AT is finding a group of people who move at roughly my pace. We run into one another along the trail and keep track of each other at shelters, log books, trail journals, and word of mouth.

[mikec]

I hiked alone for most of the sections that I have hiked from Springer to Franconia Notch, NH. However, I now find that the trail is much tougher in New England. Because of that I am going to have a hiking partner for the last 353 miles that I have to do on the AT.

[Mags]

That is a pretty good post, Paul. Now, what is this about a "soon to be Mrs. Mags?" Congratulations!

http://www.pmags.com/best-full-moon-hike-ever

We are getting married this September in Golden Gate Canyon SP. Our reception is a cookout and out 'lodging' is group campground.

[rocketsocks]

I think you're describing hikers' motivations for every other trail in the country but I'm not so sure any more about the AT. It seems to me a lot of the trail journals relate stories of people (fellow hikers) encountered on the trail and also talk a lot about the towns & hostels. And I've seen WB threads on the subject "what's your favorite part of the trail" or "things not to miss" where most responses are trail towns or specific hostels & restaurants, sometimes hiker feeds and other "festivals."

Until 10 years ago, when one spoke of a trail "guide," it referred to one of the ATC-published books describing the natural features of the AT or other relevant facts such as campsites, water sources, and side trails. Nowadays, I get the impression - at least from on-line places like WB and FB - that hikers seeking a "guide" are talking about AWOL's or the Companion with the focus on trail towns and services.

Dan "Wingfoot" Bruce's guide books go back to the early 90's, mine is from 1995.

[rocketsocks]

Lotta really good posts here,good luck on your hike.I'd recomend going alone sometime in your life,you may just learn some things about yourself that you did not know.Be safe, be well, just be.

[Mike2012]

Been hiking "alone" for close to 1,000 miles so far. Some days it really does feel alone and maybe I see 2 or three other people but other days I come upon a whole crew of people and enjoy that too. On the AT there are always people but the "crowds" ebb and flow. Your best tool is your mind. It keeps you from hiking in high winds and lightning storms, keeps you from diving into muddy water, keeps you from trying to hike too far on little food and water. Hiking alone also gives you a great gift of being alone with your thoughts where you deal with things that bug you when you aren't distracted by daily workaday life, the tv and internet. Excepting last weekends storms in Virginia I've never really been scared on the trail but I have had those gut feelings to stop talking with someone and move on but that's just been once or twice. Back in Georgia I was asking this dude named Peakseeker if he ever had any scary storms on his thru hike and he said yes but he gave me the sage advice to not think about all the things that could happen on your hike but to just take each day as it comes one day at a time.
"hike your own hike"

[WIAPilot]

http://www.pmags.com/best-full-moon-hike-ever

We are getting married this September in Golden Gate Canyon SP. Our reception is a cookout and out 'lodging' is group campground.

This has nothing to do with hiking and congratulations, but that is the coolest engagement ring ever.

[MuddyWaters]

Its actually hard to be alone for very long.

What makes you think you would be any better off with someone?

Its funny, when learning to diver recreationally, they teach you the "buddy system". You have to have a dive buddy, never allowed to go alone.
When you get very experienced , diving deeper, etc however, many avoid that.
The truth is, a buddy is just one more thing that can get you in trouble or kill you.


You have shown the sense to read here, and ask questions. You will be fine.

[rocketsocks]

http://www.pmags.com/best-full-moon-hike-ever

We are getting married this September in Golden Gate Canyon SP. Our reception is a cookout and out 'lodging' is group campground.

Congradulations Paul, wishing you much happieness in the future!

[Malto]

I do 99% of my trips alone but it was a journey to get here. Before I started backpacking I did a lot of car camping along the rapidan in va. Not an established campground but there might have been other people a 1/4 mile away. As summer turned to winter I found that I was alone up on the river. But it a very familiar place and I found peace in isolation. When I started backpacking it was in the Sierra and again it took me several trips before I felt comfortable alone in the wild. Interestingly I also had a very similar transformation the first time I went tent free on a trip. I lost the comfort of the very thin piece of plastic between me and the wild. But soon it became natural and I do most of my hikes solo. But even now it gets a bit freaky such as the the snowshoe trip into the heart of the Sierra. There wasn't another human within 20 air miles and I knew that I was on my own. But as others before me said, you gain a certain humility about what is smart to do or not do.

Take it a step at a time. Solo trips are great for many reason reasons previous mentioned. It will also make the more social trips even better.

[SawnieRobertson]

I took a look at the site, its more for education and folks who did not attend Boy Scouts, really its almost the same stuff.

Some of us, WOO, were excluded from Boy Scouts. :- 0

[10-K]

Someone mentioned they were going to have a hiking partner for the NH/ME section of the trail because it was more difficult.

I just want to suggest that you hike the trail 1 step at a time. Just the step right in front of you. You don't hike the whole trail at one time...

I'm trying to convey this concept to my wife. I'm teaching her how to ride a motorcycle and she doesn't want to go on a road with too many curves.

In her mind she's driving through all the curves at one time... In reality, you only have to go around the curve you're in - not all of them at once.

Hiking is like that.